At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason. (A website by Trevor Grant Thomas designed to inform the world from a Christian conservative worldview, and to make new and better disciples of Jesus Christ.)
The ultimate question for us all: What shall I do with Jesus? (Matt. 27:22)

Friday, December 28, 2012

Sigh. I can’t believe that I must do this again. Jim
Scharnagel recently
responded to my last column (Answering
Liberal’s ‘Gotcha’ Questions). In attempting to “correct” me, he makes a
very common mistake when it comes to Darwinian evolution that no seasoned
Darwinist (I think he would consider himself one) should EVER make.

Mr. Scharnagel states that “Techniques such as carbon dating
have proven dinosaurs lived 265 to 65 million years ago, and remains of our
ancestors have been unearthed dating back to 6 or 7 million years.” As I have
noted often before, carbon-14 dating CANNOT date objects to be millions of
years old. Because of the rate of decay of carbon, it can only date objects to thousands
of years—at best a few ten-thousands of years.

He then asks, “How else could you account for all those
ancient fossils?” How about a global flood? (“Billions of dead things buried in
rock layers laid down by water all over the earth.”)

He also asks some other very good questions: “How could two
people produce today’s population of more than 7 billion people in 9,000 or so
years? Where did Cain and Seth get wives? How could Noah get all the Earth’s
terrestrial animals into his tiny ark for 40 days and nights? And what about
the plants?”

Actually, when it comes to A Charlie Brown Christmas, there
was controversy from the beginning. In 1965, just as the culture wars were
heating up in the U.S.,
the “enlightened” executives at CBS balked at the Peanuts classic containing
Bible passages. Most every American has heard Linus, in teaching Charlie Brown
the true meaning of Christmas, perfectly recite the King James Version of Luke
2:8-14. Of course, the Scripture reference is what was “controversial.”

Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts (the most popular and influential
comic strip of all time), was insistent. As Lee Habeeb of National Review puts
it, “[Schulz] knew that the Luke reading by Linus was the heart and soul of
the story.”

Today children (and adults) are bombarded with deceptive
(but alluring) messages about “Christmas Spirit” and how Christmas is about “spreading
joy throughout the world,” and “a time for warmth and brotherly love” (as a
recent TV cartoon declared). Even Dickens’ iconic A Christmas Carol is bereft of the complete message of Christmas.

Of course, brotherly love and spreading joy are not bad
things, but they are far from the “heart and soul” of Christmas. Schulz was
right. The “heart and soul” of any Christmas story is “[B]ehold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this
day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

Or, as C.S. Lewis put it, Christmas is the story of how “the
rightful King has landed.” Just prior to His death, as Jesus stood before the
Roman governor Pilate, Pilate asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” After
some discussion Pilate concludes to Jesus, “You are a king, then!” Jesus
answered him saying, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this
reason I was born, and for this I came into the world…”

So Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Savior
King. “Hark! The herald angels sing; glory to the newborn King!” This is the
reason for the all of the conflict and contention when it comes to Christmas
time. This is why so many fear a Nativity scene, a Christmas tree, or even a
meek “Merry Christmas.”

Who wants to be confronted with the idea that maybe they are
ignoring the most significant event in human history? Who wants to be reminded
that perhaps Jesus Christ really was (and is) a King?

And He’s not just any king, but a king with a holy mission.
“Amazing love, how can it be, that you my King would die for me?” Jesus was the
Christ, the “Messiah,” the “Anointed One.” As the angel reported to the
shepherds, “today in the town of David
a Savior has been born to you…” Jesus was a king who was born to die—not only
to die, but to rise again and rule forever.

His death was to “redeem” us and to serve as “atonement” for
us. Jesus came into the world so that the world, through Him, “might be saved.”
And on the third day after his death, our King, born in a stable, conquered
even death so that we could live forever with Him.

When Christians truly celebrate Christmas, we celebrate not
just a birthday, but the beginning of a sequence of events that would change
the world forever. He was born, He lived, He died, He arose, and now He is
preparing a place for all of those who would believe in Him. Just as sure as
all of the other events took place, we who celebrate Christmas look forward to
His return and we will celebrate for all eternity.

Just before handing Jesus over for crucifixion, Pilate asked
the crowd, “What shall I do, then, with Jesus…?” That is the ultimate question
that each of us must answer, and Christmas provides us with the beginning of
the answer.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

The greatest fear for any parent worth anything is the fear
of their child preceding them in death—especially a young child. When we hear
of such a tragedy, like what occurred yesterday in Newtown CT, we often say “I can’t
imagine.” The terrifying reality for parents is that, we can imagine. We look
at our own children and think of what those other poor parents are suffering
through and wonder how we would handle it if it were our tragedy. I don’t know
and I don’t want to know.

What I do know is that, whatever means that the enemy uses
to perpetrate such destruction, no amount of political effort can change a
human heart. Of course, this doesn’t mean that lawmakers and laws don’t play a
role in keeping us safe. However, as I noted after the November 6th
election, for things to really change in America, we need a spiritual
awakening. We need true revival. Then the politics will take care of itself.

Isn’t it disgustingly ironic that liberals—Bloomberg, Menino,
Piers Morgan, (MSNBC’s) Alex Wagner, et al—are screaming for more gun control
after the death of 28 Americans, including 20 children, yet nearly 4,000
children a day are killed in the womb in the U.S., and liberals barely bat an
eye. I wouldn’t for one second trust the motives and sympathies of someone when
it comes to their concern for “gun control” when they refuse to act to act to
protect the most innocent among us.

Friday, December 14, 2012

As much as the establishment GOP would like for the “social”
(I prefer “moral”)
issues to go away, liberals simply won’t allow it. Contrary to popular belief,
lately it has been liberals on offense when it comes to making the moral issues
into campaign issues. How ironic is it that, when jobs and the economy are overwhelmingly the leading issue in a
political campaign, liberals insist on debating the moral issues. Contrary to
GOP establishment beliefs, this is not a bad thing.

Conservative Christians are on the side of the truth when it
comes to abortion, same-sex marriage, evolution, and so on. We simply need
candidates who truly believe our positions and can intelligently articulate
them. When debating the moral issues, too many GOP candidates are simply
pandering. Other conservatives have their hearts in the right place, but they are
unable to communicate effectively their positions when put on the spot by
liberals—whether their opponent or the media.

If your heart and your mind are not in this debate, serious
mistakes can (and will) be made (ask Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock). I can’t
change anyone’s heart, but I can provide some mental ammunition when it comes
to debating the moral issues.

Thus, as a public service to conservative Christians
everywhere, but especially to those running for public office, this column is a
primer for how to answer those “gotcha” questions that any candidate opposing a
liberal will inevitably have to answer.

First of all, on the question of rape and abortion, as Mike
Adams of Townhall.com points
out, one should use significant caution when discussing such matters. Next,
I would advise an approach taken by Jesus Christ Himself. Often, when doubters were
attempting to trap Jesus with their “gotcha” questions, to reveal their
ignorance and hypocrisy, Christ responded with a question of His own.

There are several such questions with which to respond when
asked why one does not support abortion in the case of a pregnancy resulting
from rape.For example, almost certainly
the person urging a rape exception does not really believe in the
exception.As Adams
also points out, “[i]n order for there to be an exception to a rule banning
abortions, there has to be a rule banning abortions. That much is obvious. It
is also obvious that pro-choicers do not merely want abortion to be available
in cases of rape. They want it available in all cases.”

Thus, one should ask them: If I agree to the rape exception,
would you then agree to ban abortion in all other cases? Also point out that
there are literally thousands of people alive today who were born as a result
of a rape. (A good idea would be to name a specific example.) Ask if it would
be acceptable to kill that person because of the circumstances of his or her
conception.

Another good question, as I pointed out months ago, would be: Instead of killing the innocent child in the womb,
why not execute the rapist? A follow up would be: Do liberals (or others) who
support abortion in cases of rape also support the execution of rapists? Perhaps
the best question would be, why compound one evil deed with another? Rape is a
horrific evil, but so is the taking of an innocent life.

On the issue of marriage, conservatives are often asked if
they support same-sex marriage (or more sinisterly, a loaded question such as
“Do you support marriage equality?”). The conservative response should be “No,”
immediately followed by, “How would you
discriminate and define marriage?”

Most liberals want to define marriage as a union between any
two consenting adults. Of course, this ignores polygamy, polyandry, and other
variations of multiples marrying. The point is (as I pointed out months ago), any definition of marriage is “discriminatory;” it just
comes down to whose definition you want to use.

It should also be pointed out that, once same-sex marriage
has legal recognition and protection, businesses, schools, churches, and so on
could then face legal consequences if they “discriminate” against same-sex
marriage. Same-sex marriage supporters should have to answer whether they would
support such legal actions.

Then there is the dreaded, “How old do you think the earth
is?” question. Once such a question is asked, any conservative worth his weight
should seriously consider ending the interview/debate right then and there.

This question is nothing more than a blatant attempt by
liberals and their apologists to paint conservatives as “religious nuts” or “anti-science
bumblers.” As Paul Krugman of the New York Times put it after Marco Rubio
was asked about the age of the earth, “Like striated rock beds that speak of
deep time, his inability to acknowledge scientific evidence speaks of the
anti-rational mind-set that has taken over his political party.”

Of course, what liberals are really trying to get at is
whether their conservative target accepts Darwinian evolution (D.E.) as “the
gospel” when it comes to how life began. Without billions of years, D.E. is as
dead as a dinosaur fossil. This is why liberals are so committed to millions
and billions of years. Thus, the conservative retort should aim to redirect
back to D.E.

Use questions such as: do you really believe that humans,
monkeys, elephants, antelopes, lions, lizards, apples, apricots, roses, and
rhododendrons all have a common ancestor?Do you believe that all life on earth came into being without a Creator?
What does D.E. contribute to operational science today? (In other words, what
is D.E., other than an attempt to explain our existence without a Creator?) If
D.E. is so fundamental to science (as mostevolutionists
will claim), then why is it possible to reject completely D.E. and
millions/billions of years and still operate perfectly well in any scientific field (including
medicine)? And similarly, as Rubio put it, what does D.E. have to do with the
gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States?

It would also be worth pointing out (as I did last year)
that two of the greatest scientists who ever lived, Isaac Newton and Johannes
Kepler, both calculated the earth to be only a few thousand years old. Kepler calculated a creation date of 3992,
and Newtonfirmly defended a
creation date of about 4000 B.C.

The most important thing to remember when faced with
difficult questions is that there is such a thing as absolute truth, and there
is an Author of this truth. We will only get the right answers to the difficult
questions when we allow ourselves to be guided by His wisdom. As Newton put it, “Gravity
explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets
in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done.”

In God

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I was born in 1969 to Edsel and Carolyn Thomas and have lived all my life in Northeast Georgia. I've been a follower of Jesus since 1986. I am originally from White County, where I graduated from high school and lived for the first twenty-plus years of my life. (Most of my family and my wife’s family live in White County.) Michelle and I married on January 31, 1998. We have 4 beautiful children (three boys and one girl): Caleb, born 2002; Jesse, born 2004; Caroline born 2006; and Noah born in 2008. We currently reside in the North Hall area. I have a BS degree in physics from the University of North Georgia, an MEd in mathematics education from the University of North Georgia, and an EdS in mathematics education from the University of Georgia. I've been teaching high school mathematics (public and private) since 1993. In 2013 my wife and I published Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World. In 2016 I published The Miracle and Magnificence of America. I have been writing opinion columns since 2001. I have been blogging (though not with my own blog) since 2007. My hobbies include anything that allows me to spend time with my family, and includes action movies, swimming, hunting, fishing, gardening, and maintaining my lawn. I also enjoy most sports that involve a ball, and try (somewhat) hard to not cuss while watching the Georgia Bulldogs, the Atlanta Falcons, Braves, and Hawks, and the Dallas Cowboys.